


The Girl Who Cried Collectors

by TheElusiveDabbler (I_Write_Tragedies_Not_Sins)



Category: Mass Effect
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-20
Updated: 2016-12-20
Packaged: 2018-09-09 23:27:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8917321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_Write_Tragedies_Not_Sins/pseuds/TheElusiveDabbler
Summary: "There once was a little girl who was bored as she sat on the hillside watching the colony prepare for attack. To amuse herself, she took a great breath and sang out, "Collectors! Collectors! The Collectors are here!"The colonists came running up the hill to help the girl drive the Collectors away. But when they arrived at the top of the hill, they found no Collectors. The girl laughed at the sight of their angry faces."Don't cry 'Collectors', little girl," said the colonists, "when there's no Collectors!" They went grumbling back down the hill."A drabble inspired by Aesop's Fable, The Boy Who Cried Wolf, with a Mass Effect twist.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to challenge myself by keeping the word count around the same length as the original fable, which is about 305 words long in this version: https://www.storyarts.org/library/aesops/stories/boy.html

A swirling mass of fluffy white clouds line the sky. Adeline lets out a sigh, boredom ringing through her mind. She sits atop a tiny box, the cold metal a nice contrast to the hot, summer air on Horizon. She gets to her feet, walking over to her mother. Adeline tugs on her mother's shirt sleeve. 

"Mooooooom," she whines, drawing out the word and pursing her lips in a frown.

Her mother shoos her away. "Not now, Addie. I'm cooking lunch for Major Alenko."

She watches as the Alliance marine, Alenko, walks down the path, hand resting on his gun and an easy smile curling his lips. She crosses her arms, stomping away. She crawls atop a small prefab and holds her knees tight against her chest, brows furrowed.

An idea strikes her and she lets out a bloodcurdling scream. "Collectors! Mommy, help!" she shouts.

Chaos erupts below her and she stifles a giggle. She looks over the edge of building, face split in a grin. Panicked expressions stare up at her and she bursts into laughter. "I fooled you!"

Her mother is furious. Her face is pinched and red, eyes practically bulging from their sockets. Adeline stands in a corner, nose facing the wall, and kicks at a speck of dirt on the floor. It's not her fault she's bored. It's her mom's fault, for not paying attention to her. Was a little attention too much to ask for? It's _boring_ out here.

A few more weeks pass of the same, dull routine. There's nothing to do here. All the other kids are either too young or too old, and no one will play with her. She wanders far away from the colony, exploring on her own. She can hear the buzzing of insects before she sees them, a horrifying sound like a thousand mosquitoes. Fear, hot and thick, makes her heart speed up as she runs from the swarm.

"Help! Mommy, help!" 

But no one comes. They ignore her screams and pleading as she trips in the dirt, falling face first on the ground. A sharp prick against her skin and suddenly she can no longer move. She tries to move her fingers, blink, anything, but nothing happens. A large, monstrous creature looms over her.

“You cannot resist,” it says, eyes glowing. "You will be as we are."


End file.
